Lock mechanism for guns.



No. 800,965. PATENTED OGT. s, 1905. R. 0. WOLFERSPBRGBR & M. B. MORAN" LOCK MECHANISM FOR GUNS.

APPLICATION rum) 1:30.17, 1903.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

[22 were 6021.? as 0.24 0 5/ er-S'pe rgec,

J20 .M'att ewlIJI [ona/z.

PATENTBD OCT. 3 1905. R. G WOLPERSPERGER & M. E. MORAN,

2 SHEETS-SHEET 8.

LOCK MECHANISM FOR GUNS.

APPLICATION mm) no 11 1903 fiZWfiiZ/ZY'J floss Zfer s'puyer Mai-H1 en! E. M Oran ifZ/nemew: Wm W IIITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ROSS C. IVOLFERSFERGER AND MATTHEW E. MORAN, OF CHICAGO,

ILLINOIS.

LOCK MECHANISM FOR GUNS- Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 3, 1905.

Application filed December 17, 1903. Serial No. 185,588.

To (ti/l Lu/tom, it may concern:

Be it known that we, RossO. WoLFER- SPERGER and MATTHEW E. MORAN, of Chicago,

in the county of Cookand State of Illinois,.

guns, and more particularly for double-barreled breech-loading shotguns.

In general the object of our invention is to provide a cheap, simple, strong, and effective lock mechanism for guns; but other advantages accruing from the use of our invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following description.

In said drawings, wherein we have illustrated our invention as embodied in a singletrigger double-barreled shotgun, Figure 1 is a longitudinal section of the lock mechanism, taken centrally of the gun. Fig. 2 is a View, mainly in section, upon a line passing through the right barrel, showing the parts in cocking position. Fig. 3 is an inverted view of the action-frame with the trigger-plate removed and with parts broken away. Fig. 4: is a detail illustrating the connection of the ejector-sear trip with the hammer, taken on line 4; 4 of Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is a detail'of the cocking-lever detached.

Throughout said drawings like numerals of reference refer always to like parts.

In the drawings, indicates a fragment of the gun-stock.

11 indicates the actionframe,provided with a tang 11.

12 indicates the trigger-plate.

13 indicates the tang-bolt securing the stock, action-frame, and trigger-plate together.

14 indicates a barrel structure.

15 indicates a barrel-lug structure constituting part of the barrel structure.

16 indicates the hinge-pin with which the barrel structure 15 is connected for rotation to the action-frame, as will be well understood.

17 indicates the recess in the action-frame adapted to receive the lug structure 15 when the gun is closed.

It will be understood that the hammer mechanism for each barrel is a duplicate of the other, and we will therefore describe only the hammer mechanism ofthe right barrel, it being understood that like parts to those described are found in the hammer mechanism of the left barrel indicated by like numerals differentiated by the exponent character prime,

18 indicates a cylinder-chamber formed in the action-frame and screw -threaded at its rear end and provided with a firing-pin hole 19, which passes through the standing breech.

20 indicates the plunger arranged to reciprocate in said cylinder 18 and comprising a suitable elongated spindle 21, headed, as at 22, at its front end and provided with a projecting firing-pin 23, arranged to slide through the pin-hole 19. The head 22 of the plunger is partially cut away, as best illustrated in Fig. 3, to form a shoulder 24: to receive the thrust of the cocking-lever, as will be hereinafter described. Further, said head is provided on its under side with a notch 25 for a purpose to be described. The rear end of the spindle 21 is also notched, as indicated at 26.

27 indicates a screw threaded bushing, screwed into the cylinder 18 and adapted to form a guiding-bearing for the spindle 21.

28 indicates a helical spring coiled around the spindle 21 within the cylinder 18 and finding abutment at its opposite ends against the head 22 of the plunger and the bushing 27. Associated with each plunger is a sear for holding it in cocked position.

Specifically, 29 indicates a sear pivoted in the action-frame, as at 30, and provided with a tooth 31, adapted when the plunger ismoved to cocked position against the tension of the spring 28 to engage in the notch 26.

32 indicates a sear-spring secured to the action-frame and bearing constantly upon the sear to force it into contact with the plungerspindle.

33 indicates a trigger associated with suitable mechanisms whereby it is adapted when properly moved to trip either sear by lifting" its rear end, and so throwing the tooth 31 out of engagement with the notch 26.

The specific single-trigger mechanism employed is not germane to this case; but that suggested by the drawings is fully set forth and described in detail in our pending application, Serial No. 185,587, filed simultaneously herewith, and for full description reference is accordingly made to the said copending application.

Referring now to the cocking devices, 34 indicates generally a cocking-lever, comprising a transverse bearing portion 35, a longitudinally-extending arm 36, substantially vertically-disposed operating-arms 37 and 37 located at opposite ends of the bearing portion 35 and extending into operative association with the plungers and 20, respectively, the end of each of said operating-arms being adapted to pass into the recess of the plunger and bear against the shoulder 24 or 24 thereof. The bearing portion of the cocking-lever is seated in abearing-recess 38, formed in a saddle projection 39 of the action-frame, the operating-arms 37 37 of said lever straddling the said saddle member. Vertical support is afforded the bearing member from below by the trigger-plate 12, which underlies the recess 38 when the lever is in position aforesaid. The arm 36 of the lever is arranged in the lugrecess 17 of the action-frame and is at its forward end operatively connected with the barrel structure.

In the mechanism specifically illustrated in the drawings, 36 indicates a hook formed in the forward end of the cocking-lever arm 36.

40 indicatesa link pivoted, as at 41, in asuitable bearing-recess formed therefor in the barrel-lug structure 15 and at its lower end provided with a hook 42,'which projects into the recess 15 of the said barrel-lug structure.

The hooks 36 and 42 are normally arranged in engagement and are so shaped that when the barrel structure is moved about its hingepin 16 from a position such as that indicated in Fig. 1 to a position such as that indicated in Fig. 2 the hooks are adapted to roll upon each other with but little friction.

Means are provided for yieldingly maintaining the link 40 at its forwarolmost limit of movement, such means in the present structure comprising a stud 43, seated in a recess 44, formed therefor in the lug 15 and maintained under pressure by a spring 45 in constant contact with the rear edge of the link 40,

The operation of the parts thus far describedwill be as follows: Assuming that both barrels have just been fired and. that the gun is being broken down for reloading that is to say, its barrel structure is'being moved from the position illustrated in Fig. 1 to that shown in Fig. 2during such movement the bodily movement of the hook-link 40 with the barrel structure exerts an upward and forward pull upon the lever-arm 36 by reason of the engagement of the hooks 42 and 36 of the link and arm, respectively. The lever-arm 36 being held against longitudinal movement by the bearing engagement of the member of the lever with its recess 38 the arm 36 is simply oscillated vertically, the link turning about its pivot 41 against the tension of its retaining-spring 45 to compensate for the longitudinal component of the bodily movement of said hook. The elevation of the arm 36 of the cocking-lever effects the corresponding rearward movement of the operating-arms 37 37', which, bearing against the shoulders 24 24 of the respective plungers 20 and 20, move the latter rearwardly against the tension of their springs 28 and 28 to the position illustrated in Fig. 2, when the respective sears 29 and 29, under the tension of their springs 32, bite into the recesses 26 26, thereby holding both plungers in cocked position. It will be noted that the connection of the barrel structure with the cocking-levers is such as to form in itself a positive stop to limit the range of oscillation of the barrels about the hinge-pin 16, thereby obviating the necessity for a supplemental check-hook for such purpose. When now the gun is restored to its initial closed position, the return movement of the barrel structure about the hinge-pin 16 depresses the forward end of the cocking-lever arm 36, returning its operating-arms 37 37 to their forward limit of movement and leaving the plungers in their cocked position under the restraint only of their sears. It will be obvious now that the tripping of either sear by the trigger mechanism will release the corresponding plunger, permitting it to be impelled forcibly forward under the influence of its spring 28.

Associated with the parts described we also provide an ejector sear-trip mechanism adapted to coact with the ejector devices carried by the fore-arm in a manner Well understood by those skilled in the art.

We have not herein deemed it necessary to illustrate an ejector; but for an operative ejector device such as may be advantageously employed in conjunction with the trip mechanism herein illustrated we refer to our Patent No. 717,486, dated December 30, 1902.

Referring now to the mechanism particularly illustrated in Figs. 3 and 4, 46 indicates an ejector trip extending longitudinally through the front extension of the actionframe and at its rear end provided with an eccentric head 47, arranged in a suitable recess 48 in the frame. 49 indicates a coiled spring tending to move said head and the trip in a rearward direction. 50 indicates an oscillating lever provided with a tongue 51, hearing in a suitable aperture formed therefor in the action-frame adjacent the head 47 of the trip and also provided with a shoulder 52, in constant contact with said head. The upper extremity of the lever 50 is provided with a finger 53, engaging in the notch 25 in the under side of the head 22 of the plunger 20. It will accordingly appear that when the hammer is cooked the lever 52 is thrown to its rearmost position, thereby permitting the ejector-trip to be retracted by its spring 49 to a position wholly within the action-frame, as indicated in Fig. 3; but when the plunger is impelled to its forward or liring position the lever 50 is correspondingly moved, so that parent to those skilled in the art that numerous changes might be made in the particular embodiment of our invention without departing from the spirit and scope thereof.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is

1. In a gun, an action-frame provided with I a recess and a saddle near the base thereof,

firing mechanism mounted in the action-frame, a barrel structure arranged to oscillate about a pivot carried by the action-frame, a bellcrank cocking-lever having a transverse portion seated on the saddle of the action-frame, one of the ends of said lever being operatively connected with the barrel structure and. the other end operatively associated with the firing mechanism to cock the same, and a trigger-plate covering portions of said recess in the action-frame arranged when in position to retain the bell-crank lever in its saddle in said frame.

2. In a gun, an action-frame, a barrel structurepivoted thereto, firing mechanism mounted in said action-frame, bell-crank cockinglever mounted for oscillation in the actionframe having an arm extending into operative association with the said firing mechanism, and an arm extending forward beneath the barrel structure, said forwardly-extending arm being provided at its end with an upturned, rearwardly-opening hook 36, and a link 40 pivotally connected to the barrel structure provided with an oppositely-arranged hook 42 normally engaging the hook 36.

3. In a gun, in combination with a longitudinally-reciprocating firing-plunger, a longitudinally-extendingejector-trip, means for normally holding said trip at its rearward limit of movement, and a lever connection between said ejector-trip and the plunger.

In testimony that we claim the foregoing as our own we aflix our signatures in presence of two witnesses.

ROSS (J. WOLFERSPERGER.

MATTHEW E. MORAN.

In presence of GEORGE T. MAY, Jr., MARY F. ALLEN. 

